Ladies and Gentlemen, AI art is here!
And it’s a pretty exciting time. It feels like something out of a movie that we can tell a machine a description of what we would like it to create, and it just does it. In seconds. And while most of the best AI art generators are still in their beta modes, they’re only going to advance over the next few years.
So let’s start with the basics: How does an AI Art Generator work?
Easy. You give it a prompt like I want “a kitten on a bench overlooking the ocean”, and the AI art generator will create the image for you.
So I’ve spent hours and hours testing each platform out myself. To make the judging fair, I came up with three different prompts that I used for inputs. I used the same for every platform, that way, each output spoke for itself. As you’ll see as you work through the reviews, some do better with certain types of art than others.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
What Is the Best AI Art Generator?
Okay, let’s get started with everything you need to know about the best AI art generators.
Table of Contents:
1. Midjourney
Best for Art Enhancements and Variations
Midjourney is an AI art generator made for the new generation. It’s held largely in the Discord community, so if you’re unfamiliar with the platform then you may have a little bit of a learning curve to utilize this software. But the photos are phenomenal, one of the best I experimented with.
Currently, Midjourney’s research labs are in beta mode, but it’s great because you can get access to it right now. Simply join a #newbie room and type “/imagine”. This will allow you to prompt the AI generator to create any image you would like. What I’ve found is that the more descriptive you are, the closer you will get to what you’re actually looking for. But giving more vague responses will sometimes give you better quality photos that you couldn’t have ever imagined yourself.
The Artwork
When I took it for a test drive, I found some astounding high-quality generated photos. The detail in each of the images looks like they were created by an actual human artist. If you put a human and AI image from Midjourney side by side, I’m pretty sure you would have a hard time determining which one is “real”.
Here are some of the prompts I entered and what came out (these were all generated on 8/26/22, the experience is still changing significantly so might be different if you try it out a month later).
Prompt 1
Prompt 2
Prompt 3
As you can see, stellar realistic images. There are still a few things I would like to tweak, like the enchanted forest tree trunks look oddly skinny and not full, but stunning nonetheless.
Some other notes about Midjourney:
Pricing:
Midjouney has a free option for 25 prompts per day, but if you want more access then you need to pay a monthly subscription thereafter. You can see the prices and rate limits down below.
Verdict
Overall, the Midjourney AI art generator creates absolutely striking artwork and is considered one of the best ai art generators for obvious reasons. Like all original art, the better input you put in, the better outputs you’ll get out.
2. Jasper.AI Art Generator
Best for AI Writers
Jasper is an AI art generator that’s been in the works for a while. For those of you who are new to Jasper, the company is a very popular AI writing program that you can use to write all sorts of content.
Now many of its current fanbase have been awaiting their Art feature to become available. Today (August 26, 2022), their AI art generator became available for all users. Their platform is a little different than Midjourney, as it gives you various prompts you can enter:
Jasper’s Artwork
Jasper’s program works a little bit differently, in that you have a few dropdowns to choose from. As shown above. When I entered our three prompts, here’s what came out:
Prompt 1
Prompt 2
Prompt 3
As you can see, very different artworks from the other platforms. I think the dimensions and details are a bit off. Also, when I was creating the crowned princess, there were some outputs that didn’t even look like a human. As far as quality goes, I think there is room for improvement.
Unique Features to Jasper.ai Art:
The biggest difference is that you have a ton of dropdowns to help you better achieve the art piece that you’re looking for. Here are your dropdown boxes with some examples, but keep in mind these are all optional choices. You don’t have to use anything if you don’t want to.
Pricing:
For only $20 per month, you get complete access which is really affordable.
Verdict
They had a lot of great photos that you could easily generate and I loved the dropdown menus to give you ideas of what you’re looking for. I would say the photos are hit and miss as some photos I tried didn’t turn out at all and expect the platform to improve over time.
3. DALLE-2
Best for High-Quality
The DALL-E AI image generator has become infamous of sorts, thanks to being used in an article by the Atlantic. Although this poor journalist received the wrath of the online community, he was just simply one of the first to trial an AI image generator to obtain something original. As he points out, he didn’t “cut costs” of hiring a real artist because the photo placement, in fact, would have normally been used by another stock photo (no one ever would have been hired anyways).
While this viral story gave DALL-E 2 the spotlight, it’s a platform that’s been around for a few years now. Created by OpenAI, one of the most well-known, prestigious research organizations that are on a mission to harness artificial intelligence ethically for all. The original DALL-E was released in 2021, and now its upgrade (DALL-E 2) has made significant advancements in just a short year.
So as we can expect, the art being produced by DALLE-2 is top-notch, but unfortunately, I can’t access it now. I’ll update this post the moment I get access. From other reviewers, I think we can expect phenomenal, realistic images.
Release Date/Access:
As with many other AI art generators, they are being released in waves to work out any kinks. With so much excitement, they’ve avoided a massive crash for usage overload. Therefore, sign up and get on the waitlist. I’m currently already on it as well, and I expect it’s going to take some time before gaining access to the beta program.
DALL-E 2 Specs So Far:
Pricing:
It looks like $15 gives you credits for 460 images per month.
Verdict
I have high hopes for DALL-E 2 and expect it to be one of the top AI art generators on the market. The only drawback is there is a waitlist at this time.
4. Night Cafe
Most User-Friendly AI Art Generator
Night Cafe is another noteworthy platform that’s on a mission –– a mission to create art accessible to everyone, not just the skilled. The creator, Angus Russell, started with the idea of wanting to find artwork for his home that was personal and realized that it could never be personal without spending thousands on commissioning an artist.
Since 2019, Night Cafe has been honing in on its machine learning models, allowing you to create AI-generated artworks in seconds. As it’s one of the more popular AI art generators on the market, you can create many beautiful artworks.
The Artwork
Let’s look at those three prompts again and see what Night Cafe does with them:
Prompt 1
Prompt 2
Prompt 3
As you can see above, I think Night Cafe did the best with the landscape prompt, but not as well with realistic images. The princess looks a bit “avatar”, but if that’s the look you need for your project than it’s a great place.
Other Night Cafe Features
They have a discord community as well, which makes it fun to post and share your favorite works of art. You can also “evolve an image” which is great if you want to get into more details.
Per their website, they are also now offering “commercial use” on their images. But there’s some ambiguity with current copyright laws so do your research.
Also, when you go to create an image there are a few options you get when you go to create an image:
Pricing:
They price it a bit differently than others and are on a “credit” system. You can purchase a monthly subscription which gives you access to x amount of credits per month. The nice thing is they allow five free credits per day so you can try it out first. Also, you can earn free credits through different promotions like participation within the Discord Community.
Verdict
Night Cafe brings out some absolutely stellar features, has a Discord community to back it up and has a reasonably priced payment system. It’s definitely one of the most popular for a reason.
5. Wombo.art Dream
Best for NFT Wallet Connection
Wombo.art is another great platform for AI-generated images. What sets this one apart from the rest, is that you have the ability to upload your own images or NFTs to model a certain style or look. It’s as easy as connecting your NFT wallet. This is a really cool way to be able to guide the deep learning technology of AI.
Not only that but you can directly buy printed images and mint your NFT from the platform. This saves you a few steps if you’re looking to do either of those two things down the road. Okay, let’s check out the art.
The Artwork
The crowned princess prompt I actually regenerated it about four times to get something resembling a woman. So, unfortunately, I didn’t have the best luck with people. But then the next two prompts MORE than made up for it and were some of my favorites.
Prompt 1
Prompt 2
Prompt 3
Features You Get From Wombo.art
Pricing:
It looks like it’s free!
Verdict
Wombo.art created some wonderful fantasy images and is perfect for those that are using an AI art generator for NFTs thanks to their direct connection. It doesn’t seem to be the best option for images of people.
What is an AI Art Generator?
If you’re new to AI art generators, then the good news is that it’s not very complicated at all! The way they work is that you enter in some sort of prompt or saying. For instance, this could be “a row boat on the ocean at sunset” and the artificial intelligence art generator will create a work of art for you in minutes.
They can be used for anything, from marketing and digital material, to AI logos and AI headshots.
From all the platforms I’ve played with, the majority of them offer up to 4 variations of your prompt. You can then choose which one was more in line with what you were looking for, and then enhance or evolve that photograph.
Now that you’ve got the basics down, there are a few things that are worth discussing.
How Does Artificial Intelligence Create AI Generated Art?
Without getting too “techy”, in essence, the machine has been trained to understand aesthetics, objects, figures, etc by analyzing thousands and thousands of images throughout the web. This is accomplished through what engineers call “neural networks”. That’s often called the “visual” side of deep learning as it takes a lot of complicated technology for artificial intelligence to understand or process an image.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Type of AI Art Styles Can You Generate with AI?
After spending hours playing on many different platforms myself, there are so many different types of art you can create with artificial intelligence. Typically, it depends on the platform you choose and the prompts you enter.
For instance, some unique AI art generators will allow you to choose a type of medium (like canvas, oil painting, pixel art, abstract art) or give you keywords to choose from to get what you’re looking for. Even on platforms that don’t, all you need to do is make it part of the prompt. So instead of saying “gondola in the Venice canal” you can write “gondola in the Venice canal with gold ratio, impressionist style”.
Some even turn out some high-quality, realistic images where you can’t tell if they were done by bot or human.
What Impact Will AI Art Generation Have on Creatives?
Now there is a LOT of controversy surrounding this new technology. Rightfully so, creatives such as artists, graphic designers, and painters are worried about what this type of technology will have on their businesses. After all, if someone can create AI generated art that’s personal and completed in less than a minute for mere cents, what does their future business model look like?
And that’s just the start of what to think about. There are tons of considerations to think about with this new technology such as:
- What are the legalities surrounding AI art?
- How will search engines respond to the use of AI art?
- Are there any copyright concerns as AI utilizes the web to understand images?
While these are all valid concerns that will likely take years to sort through, no one can be certain about what the future holds. My recommendation to creatives who have a long career ahead of them is to adapt your business model to succeed in the future.
Are There Any AI Art Communities?
There are a lot of AI art communities within Discord with Midjourney and Night Cafe.
If you’re not on Discord, Jasper.ai has a great Facebook community where many people are sharing their products.
Are There Any Free AI Art Generators?
There are actually a few AI art generators that you can try out for free. Midjourney allows a few prompts per month, but keep in mind your original images cannot be used commercially. Wombo.art is another great platform with mobile capability that offers a free AI powered software.
